California Labor Environment

and H-2A

Presented by: Carlos Castañeda

Where is everyone ?!!! Birthrate in Mexico

Border Security. Both Sides of the Border.

Deportations

Aging Workforce

Guide (Coyote) Costs

Safety

March 7, 2018

California finally feels

the labor drought

Many AG States East of the Mississippi

have been using the H2 program since

1980

CA farm labor pool supply is the

equivalent to the bottom of the lake.

The rest of the nation has seen it’s farm

labor force dry up years ago. This is a

result from our proximity to the border

and relaxed ICE enforcement

Solutions

Mechanize: labor-saving mechanization

Stretch : Borrow, loan or DO NOT take a day off

Supplement: H-2A Visa

H-2A

Employers must:

(1) try to recruit US workers

(2) provide housing

(3) provide transportation

(4) pay AEWR

AEWR

2017 2018

Housing RequirementsSome of the requirements:

50 sq ft of BEDROOM space per

employee

Fully stocked kitchen and common area

(or provide 3 meals daily – cost shared

with employee)

Bathroom and laundry facility with

Laundry tub

Fire Extinguishers and ladders (2 story

building)

Cost Effective Housing

• Provide a kitchen vs

providing food

• Use temporary mobile

homes on marginal

ground vs new

construction or existing

stick built housing

Locals Reaction

Fire Destroys Homes

Destined for Farmworkers Nipomo residents react to news that a project set to

house migrant farm workers, will be abandoned.

The announcement comes just a week after a massive fire engulfed two of the seven units at the complex.

Fire investigators say they think that it may have been arson.

Neighbors tell KSBY Wednesday they were mostly thrilled to hear the cul-de-sac would not become the home to more than 100 farm workers.

Many concerns from these residents included increased traffic, decreased property value, overall safety issues, and a worry that an arsonist could return.

It is a neighborhood filled with young families, and Wednesday night they celebrated saying the future of their community looks brighter now.

Housing: Outside the box

Fairgrounds being used by a large Northern CA grower

Hotels purchased throughout Santa Maria

Trailer Parks used in Oregon

WAFLA housing barracks 8.00 per person per night

Tanimura and Antle Solution: $8 million for housing for 800 workers in

Spreckles, CA ($10,000 per bed)

600 Bed facility going through planning in Santa Maria

2017 OFLC H-2A Statistics

In 2014 California was the 7th

highest H-2A user in the nation at 6,043 positions certified.

At the close of 2017 it has risen to the 5th spot, with 15,232 positions certified.

Being that California produces over one-third of the nation’s vegetables and two-thirds of fruits and nuts, it

won’t be long before it becomes the top H-2A user.

Use of the H-2A Temporary Worker Program Rising

California’s recruitment of

foreign laborers, virtually all of

them from Mexico, grew by

3,121 workers, a 28% increase

from the previous year, and

nearly three times the national

growth rate, according to the

data analysis.

January 9, 2018 – LA Times, Geoffrey Mohan

Employee Welfare

Enrichment

Workers Home Before H2A After H2A

Recruitment

Wild Cards

Trouble

Ahead?

Filled out an

I-9 lately?

Enhancing Public Safety in theInterior of the United States

EXECUTIVE ORDER

Sec. 5.

Enforcement Priorities. In executing faithfully the immigration laws of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall prioritize for removal those aliens described by the Congress in sections 212(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (4) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 1225, and 1227(a)(2) and (4)), as well as removable aliens who:

(a) Have been convicted of any criminal offense;

(b) Have been charged with any criminal offense, where such charge has not been resolved;

(c) Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;

(d) Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;

(e) Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;

(f) Are subject to a final order of removal, but who have not complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or

(g) In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security.

E-Verify Legislation Push

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) Legal Workforce Act HR 1147 Reintroduced 2/27/15

Failed 3 prior times in Congress – HR 2164 - 6/2011, HR 2885 - 9/2011 and HR 1772 -4/2013

Makes E-Verify mandatory nationally - Details of the bill:

•Repeals I-9 System

•Gradual Phase-In

•Agriculture: Requires that employees performing "agricultural labor or services" are only subject to an E-Verify check within 24 months of the date of enactment.

•States as Partners: Preempts duplicative state laws mandating E-Verify use but retains the ability of states and localities to condition business licenses on the requirement that the employer use E-Verify in good faith under federal law.

•Protects Against Identity Theft: The bill allows individuals to lock their Social Security number (SSN) so that it can't be used by another person to get a job. It also allows parents or legal guardians to lock the SSN of their minor child.

•Safe Harbor: Grants employers safe harbor from prosecution if they use the E-Verify program in good faith, and through no fault of theirs, receive an incorrect eligibility confirmation.

E-Verify

In terms of overall numbers, The Department of Labor

reports that of the 2.5 million farm workers in the U.S.,

over half (53 percent) are illegal immigrants.

Current ICE activity

U.S. immigration agents on Wednesday, 1/10/18, arrested 21 people suspected of living in the country illegally in a predawn sweep targeting dozens of 7-Eleven stores across the country.

The operation marks the expansion of an investigation into a string of New York and Virginia franchises first opened in 2013, when it was discovered several managers there used stolen identities to employ at least 100 people in the country illegally.

Despite the arrests, the early morning raids were specifically aimed at management.

Agents opened employment audits and interviewed workers at nearly 100 7-Eleven locations, which could lead to criminal charges and fines over the stores’ hiring practices.

Feds planning massive Northern California

immigration sweep to strike against

sanctuary laws

Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan slammed Brown for signing SB54, which he said undermined public safety, and signaled he was prepared to take action.

He said at the time that the federal government would not allow California to be “a sanctuary state for illegal aliens,” and would have no choice but to “conduct at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites, which will inevitably result in additional collateral arrests, instead of focusing on arrests at jails and prisons where transfers are safer for ICE officers and the community.”

SF Gate - By Hamed Aleaziz Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: El Salvador

ALERT: On Jan. 8, 2018, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced her decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador with a delayed effective date of 18 months to allow for an orderly transition before the designation terminates on Sept. 9, 2019.

Final Thoughts

Farm workers: fewer/no new entrants & aging existing

workforce

Farming for workers versus farming for yield

Change farm characteristics to make farm work easier

H-2A = Complex tool but the only tool we have